Vegan Earl Grey Cupcakes & Blueberry Frosting

Are You Ready For Your New Favorite vegan cupcake recipe? Baking these cupcakes with earl grey and bergamot pairs perfectly with this rich blueberry lemon frosting. So let’s jump right to it so I can tell you how to bake these fluffy Vegan Earl Grey Cupcakes with Vegan Blueberry Frosting!

How to make earl grey cupcakes

Since there is actually only 1/4 cup of Earl Grey tea in this recipe, the key is to make sure it is really strongly steeped. For this recipe, I used Tea Pigs Earl Grey Strong but any Earl Grey tea should do. Definitely just make sure you steep your tea for 5-10 minutes to make it super strong!

What flavors pair well with earl grey?

The main inspiration behind these cupcakes came from a desire to start baking with Earl Grey. The first recipe that really inspired me to do this was these amazing Brown Butter Earl Grey Chocolate Chip  Cookie Bars from my friend Joanne at Olive & Mango. I love how Earl Grey can compliment so many different flavors from bold chocolates to tart lemons. I knew I just had to make earl grey the star of my next cupcake recipe…with the help of some vanilla of course!

P.S- Since making these cupcakes, I’ve even made some fabulous Vegan Earl Grey Sugar Cookies!

After making the cupcakes, the next step was figuring out what flavor frosting to mix with Earl Grey.

Earl Grey is traditionally made with bergamot which gives it a citrus taste.  I had a lot of flavor ideas, but ultimately polled all of you following on Instagram and the overwhelming opinion was to go with blueberry! So you know that’s just what I did.

What flour works best for these earl grey cupcakes?

For these cupcakes, I used pastry flour because it makes these cupcakes really light and fluffy. If you’re not familiar with pastry flour, essentially it just contains less protein than all-purpose flour. All-purpose flour can be subbed 1:1 in this recipe, but the cupcakes will not be as tender and light.

To make pastry/cake flour at home measure out 1 cup (125 grams) of all-purpose flour. Then, remove 2 Tbsp of flour (16 grams) and replace it with 2 Tbsp of cornstarch. It’s really that easy!

How to make vegan blueberry frosting

One question I get a lot when I make any cake or cupcakes recipe is “How do you make such a fluffy and smooth vegan frosting?!” Since I want to share the secret with you all, here’s the formula I follow for pretty much every vegan frosting recipe on my site:

One: Cold Vegan Butter.

Depending on your preference Miyokos or Earth Balance works best. The trick is to cut the butter into chunks and whip it while it is still cold with your vegan shortening.

Two: Vegan Shortening.

I really love Spectrum Organics as its sustainably sourced palm oil. The reason I like to mix shortening with vegan butter is that palm oil tends to be softer at room temperature and makes the frosting really creamy and easy to pipe. If you don’t have shortening on hand, vegan butter can be subbed 1:1, just expect a more dense frosting.

Three: Just a Little Coconut Cream.

Adding just 1 Tbsp of this makes the frosting so much fluffier. This is completely optional so if you don’t have it on hand, just omit it from the recipe.

Four:  Organic Powdered Sugar. 

Powdered Sugar definitely is the key to getting a sweet frosting that is still super smooth. Make sure it’s organic or it’s likely not vegan!

P.S- I know you don’t want to hear about extra steps, but please SIFT the powdered sugar before adding it. Powdered sugar is notorious for having large clumps, and no one wants those in their frosting. I promise it will only take you 2 extra minutes and it’s worth it!

Five: Add in Some Flavor!

This is where I like to get creative. For my Vegan Lemon Olive Oil Cupcakes, I stuck to just vanilla bean paste. For my Vegan Blood Orange Olive Oil Cake, I added in some fresh blood orange juice. Then came my Vegan Cardamon Cupcakes with a rose-flavored frosting!

For these earl grey cupcakes, I added in fresh blueberries & a bit of lemon zest to compliment the bergamot flavor. Other flavor suggestions could be fresh strawberries, fresh orange juice, mint, peanut butter, or even melted chocolate!

One more note on vegan frosting- make sure that it is COLD before piping it. To do this, add the frosting to a piping bag and then place it into the fridge for 10-15 minutes. Then, pipe the cupcakes. This will help you get those high frosting cupcake tops!

These Vegan Earl Grey Cupcakes with Blueberry Lemon Frosting are truly the perfect cupcakes to WOW guests at any event.  If you have more cupcake recipes you want to see, please comment below any time so I can create more of the recipes you want to bake at home. In the meantime, enjoy these absolutely delicious earl grey cupcakes!

-TSG

Looking for more vegan cake & cupcake recipes? Check out these SGTO favorites:

Red Velvet Cupcakes with cream cheese frosting

Grapefruit Olive Oil Cake

Orange & Raspberry Jam Muffins

Carrot Walnut Cake

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Vegan Earl Grey Cupcakes

Yield: 8 cupcakes

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 28 minutes

Total Time: 43 minutes

Absolutely delicious, fluffy, and moist Vegan Earl Grey Cupcakes topped with a homemade blueberry lemon frosting. These dairy-free homemade cupcakes are the best vegan dessert!

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Ingredients

Earl Grey Cupcakes

• 1/4 cup plant based milk (I prefer almond, but any works)
• 1/2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup earl grey tea (strongly steeped)
• 1/3 cup + 2 Tbsp organic sugar
• 3 Tbsp oil
• 1 tsp vanilla bean paste/extract
• 1 cup cake/pastry flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt

Blueberry Lemon Frosting

• 1/2 cup cold vegan butter
• 1/3 cup vegan shortening (palm oil- can be subbed 1:1 for more vegan butter)
• 1 Tbsp cold coconut cream (optional, but makes frosting fluffy)
• 1/2 cup fresh blueberries
• 1 tsp lemon zest
• 1 cup organic powdered sugar

Instructions

Earl Grey Cupcakes

1. Preheat your oven to 350F and place paper baking liners into a muffin pan. Set aside for later.
2. Start by adding your plant milk and apple cider vinegar to a large mixing bowl. Stir and let sit about 5 minutes until milk curdles and forms a "buttermilk".
3. Next, add in the earl grey tea, sugar, vanilla bean paste/extract, and oil to the mixing bowl. Whisk to combine.
4. In a separate mixing bowl sift together your pastry flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the sifted dry ingredients to the mixing bowl containing the wet ingredients and mix until a smooth batter forms.
5. Add the batter to your lined muffin pan so that each liner is about 3/4 full. Bake the cupcakes for 25-28 muffins until cooked through. Remove from the oven and let cool before frosting.

Blueberry Lemon Frosting

1. Add your fresh blueberries and lemon zest to a blender and blend for about 1 minute. Set aside to use in the frosting.
2. Next, add the vegan butter and shortening to a mixing bowl and whip until creamed together. Once creamed, add in your coconut cream and whip about 30 more seconds to combine. Once combined, slowly whip in your sifted powdered sugar until no clumps remain. Finally, add in your blended blueberry and lemon and whip about 30 seconds until thoroughly mixed into the frosting.
3. Add the frosting to a piping bag and evenly pipe onto the cooled cupcakes. If the frosting is too soft, add the filled piping bag full of frosting back to the fridge for 10-15 minutes to help the frosting firm up before piping it. Enjoy!

Notes

Cupcakes are best enjoyed in 2-3 days, but they will store in the freezer up to 1 month. I don't recommend storing in the fridge as this will dry them out.

It's also best to make the frosting the day you want to eat the cupcakes, but cupcakes can be stored in the freezer frosted as well. Simply let them defrost to room temperature on the day you are ready to eat them

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 440Total Fat: 30gSaturated Fat: 13gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 15gCholesterol: 43mgSodium: 308mgCarbohydrates: 41gFiber: 1gSugar: 24gProtein: 3g

ShortGirlTallOrder occasionally offers nutritional information for recipes contained on this site. This information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators. Although shortgirltallorder.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures are only estimates.

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